The legendary hero archaeologist, Indiana Jones risks everything in his final adventure to keep an ancient dial that could change the course of history from those who want the device for their own personal gain. A film by James Mangold, starring Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen.

An action adventure film directed by American filmmaker James Mangold, served as a direct sequel to INDIANA JONES and the KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. It is the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series.

In 1944, the Nazis are on a mission to retrieve the Lance of Longinus from a castle in the French Alps, and they are transporting all of the treasure they have plundered on a train to Berlin. But Nazis are not the only one looking for the Lance. Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford) is taken captive by the Nazis while posing as one of them.

Lance of Longinus (Holy Lance / Spear of Destiny / Holy Spear) is the lance that is alleged to have pierced the side of Jesus as he hanged on the cross during his crucifixion, and that it absorbed his divine power, making it one of the holiest relics in existence. The Lance of Longinus is reputed to possess the power to slay Gods and Archdemons. The first historical reference to a lance was made in AD 570 by an unknown pilgrim from Piacenza. The Holy Lance relic is currently preserved at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, in a loggia carved into the pillar above the statue of Saint Longinus.

Indy miraculously escapes and boards the train with ease. There, he discovers that the Lance is a forgery. Nazi astrophysicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) also comes to the same conclusion, and he informs Colonel Weber (Thomas Kretschmann), who does not receive the news well.

However, Nazi astrophysicist Jürgen Voller reports that he has found the Antikythera, the first half of ancient dial built by Archimedes of Syracuse. It is believed to have the ability to locate time fissures, or cracks in time. These fissures are ruptures at one point in time that stretch to another point through the time vortex, allowing for possible time travel. Jürgen intends to use the ancient dial to travel back in time and change the course of history, guaranteeing the victory of the Nazis. To achieve his goal, he must obtain the missing half.

The Antikythera mechanism is an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the oldest known example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance. Archimedes of Syracuse was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity.

Indy is being chased by the Nazis as he makes his way off the train. He rescues his friend Basil “Baz” Shaw (Toby Jones), who just overheard about the Antikythera and decides to steal it. Baz has become obsessed with the mysterious device, and some say that he has gone mad.

Fast forward to 1969, Indy is retiring from Hunter College. His wife Marian (Karen Allen) has left him and filed for divorce after their son Mutt was killed in the war. He receives a surprise visit from his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, who claims to be researching the Archimedes Dial for her doctorate and needs his advice.

Persuaded by Helena, Indy agrees to help her. He reveals that he has kept it in the college archive, but they are ambushed by Dr. Schmidt’s henchmen who are also after the device. Helena snatches the Dial and flees. Dr. Schmidt is in fact Jürgen Voller, who has been working for NASA on the successful Apollo 11 mission. This gives him access to the CIA, which he is using to help him find the Dial for his own nefarious purposes.

Indiana Jones taking another leap of faith is fitting for the franchise that has finally come to a close. The film is never boring, but it is also not very exciting. This is a shame, as this type of action-adventure film is becoming increasingly rare.

The visual effects are spectacular, but the de-aging of Harrison Ford and Mads Mikkelsen is not convincing. The effect is so jarring that it might have been better to create the entire scene in CGI. The film also lacks the thrills that are expected from an Indiana Jones film, such as the car chase scene, which is a staple of the series. Where are ancient booby traps?

I am intrigued to contemplate the heights that the film could have scaled had it been helmed by Steven Spielberg, the visionary filmmaker who has breathed life into the Indiana Jones franchise and directed all of the films in the series except for this one.

INDIANA JONES and the DIAL OF DESTINY premiered at Festival de Cannes 18 May 2023. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 30 June, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It has grossed $381.2 million worldwide against the production budget of $300 million.